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Jaspreet Singh

Mrs DiSomma

ERWC, Period 2

5 February 2017

Destroying Our Future

Society has taught us to believe that bullying is something only children in elementary,

middle and high school go through. But in Reality bullying does not have a time limit, it is not

bound to a certain period of time. Bullying can be found in colleges and universities throughout

the country.

Bullying in college exists, it is not just a myth. A survey done by the Pew Research center

showed about 26% of 18-24 year old women say they have been stalked online, while 25% say

they were the target of online sexual harassment (LaMotte). An average college girl is between

the ages of eighteen to twenty four so these are the same women that are being bullied based on

the way they look and behave. The CEO and president of Project Anti-Bullying Fabianna

Pergolizzi has said the word bullying is usually associated with adolescence but it stays

consistent throughout our entire life (Cardin). Bullying does not end in high school, it will

continue throughout our life in ways that can have either negative or positives effects in our

lives. Eighteen percent of college undergraduates have admitted to being bullied once or twice in

college and thirty eight percent of the college students knew someone who had been bullied

(Bullying). If almost a fifth of an undergraduate class has been a victim of a type of bullying, it

must be taken as a serious issue.

Bullies are normal people who express their insecurities by hurting others. A CNN article

states that some girls that bully suffer from depression or alcohol abuse. These girls are venting
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their own frustrations and stress of their own lives that makes them make bad decisions onto

other people to make them feel better about themselves. Texas State University has suspended

thirteen of its drumline band after an alleged hazing incident (Kinkade). Hazing has become a

rituals for many different teams or colleges around the nation, this expression of acceptance is

given out by people who have had no acceptance in their own lives and must hurt others to prove

to themselves that they did not go through anything like that. A college bully can be anyone,

from your roommates to your college professors. Everyone goes through the stress of life, even

your professors, if these professors are too weak to handle the responsibility they have been

entrusted with, they try to guilt the students into thinking that there is something wrong with

them.

Colleges are working on a method to try and prevent bullying on their campuses. Texas

State University has made hazing, which is a form of bullying, against its policy (Kinkade).

University staff are aware of the problem at hand and they are trying to introduce more rules to

prevent this situations from happening. All colleges and universities must take serious action in

order to stop bullying on their campuses. The bullying prevention program allows to create a

home like environment, while it also tries to make the person feel more acceptable. Since

students spend most of their time on college campuses, turning it into a friendly and familiar

environment will allow the students to talk more to others around them about how they feel and

what they are going through (Olweus). College students are supposed to be aware of campus

policies or laws and whether a bullying act violates it or not. Report any behavior in violation to

campus police, local police or an individual of authority (Bullying). College officials are trying

to make students aware of how they can prevent and report an act of bullying.
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A bully has often been on the other side of his or her own actions. Sometimes a victim of

bullying does the same to another person to make themselves feel better about heir own life

(Olweus). A person who was bullied in high school may become the bully in college because he

sees his or her high school self in that certain person. That individual reminds the new bully that

this person is weak and cannot defend himself, so they chose to show their authority over this

certain individual. Out of previously bullied students almost nine percent admitted to bullying

someone else on the internet (Bullying). In the modern age, the internet has become an

everyday necessity and students think that they are completely anonymous and if the become the

bully from being the victim no one would know. Once in a sorority some members who are

against hazing will go along with it to fit in (LaMotte). Students know what they are doing is

wrong and how it is affecting the other person because they have gone through the same thing

themselves, but they keep their mouths shut and hands ties because they want to fit in and not be

known as the weak person.

College bullying is a serious issue that is often taken lightly. People do not realize that

this is our future we are putting in danger by not taking action. Great minds are created in

colleges, an individual is found, but if that individual is made feel weak and worthless, he will

not have the confidence needed to survive in the real world, and will just have his talent hidden

from the world forever.

Work Cited

Bullying on College Campuses. Gse.buffalo.edu. University of Buffalo, 2013. Web. 26 Jan

2107
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Cardin, Kathryn. Bullying in College: Silent yet Relevant usatoday.com. USA Today, 18 Oct

2013. Web. 24 Jan 2017

Kinkade, Tyler. Texas State Drumline Members arrested for Hazing Charges.

Huffintonpost.com. Huffington Post, 25 Sep 2013. Web. 24 Jan 2017

LaMotte, Sandee. The health risks of cyberbullying in college. Cnn.com. CNN, 3 March 2015.

Web. 24 Jan 2017

Olweus, Don. A Profile of Bullying at School. Expository Reading and Writing Course. The

California State University, 14 June 2011. Print. 144-150